Business
India Inflation Likely To Remain Low In 2026, New CPI Series On Anvil
NEW DELHI: India is preparing to rejig methodology for computing CPI and revamp monetary policy mandate for targeting retail inflation in 2026 after a year of benign price situation due to subdued food cost and GST reduction. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation remained in the Reserve Bank’s...
Corporate Lending To Rebound As Loan-Bond Rate Gap Narrows, RBI Eases Norms
MUMBAI: Bank lending to companies is expected to go up in the coming quarters because the difference in interest rates between corporate bonds and bank loans has narrowed. In addition, recent policy reforms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including allowing domestic banks to do acquisition financing, are...
Bank Lending To Joint Liability Groups Slump: RBI Data
MUMBAI: Bank lending to joint liability groups (JLGs) contracted sharply in 2024–25, with disbursements declining 58%, reflecting the stress faced by the microfinance sector over the past year, according to the Trend and Progress report released by the Reserve Bank of India on Monday. JLGs which are informal credit...
India Overtakes Japan To Become World’s Fourth-Largest Economy; Govt Says Will Take Over Germany Within 3 Years
NEW DELHI: The Government of India on Monday (December 29) announced via a press release that the country has now overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. With a gross domestic product (GDP) valued at $4.18 trillion, India now ranks behind only the United States, China and Germany...
IIP At 2-Year High Of 6.7 Per Cent In November On Strong Mining, Manufacturing Performance
NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output attained its highest level in financial year 2025-26 (FY26) so far in November, rising 6.7 per cent year-on-year, the fastest in 25 months, fuelled by a spike in manufacturing and a sharp pick-up in consumer goods, even as electricity generation shrank for the second...
Banks Resilient, Bad Loans At Multi-Decadal Low: RBI Report
MUMBAI: The nation’s banking sector remains resilient, marked by strong balance sheet growth while bad loans have declined to a multi-decadal low, a central bank report has said. The gross non-performing assets ratio of banks has dropped to a multi-decadal low of 2.1% as of September 2025, from 2.2%...
Centre Approves Greenlit Multiple Defence Proposals Worth ₹79,000 Crore
NEW DELHI: The government on Monday greenlit multiple proposals from the armed forces to buy or lease defence goods worth some ₹79,000 crore. The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, has approved the acceptance of necessity, a technical term that means an in-principle...
Gratuity In Full And Final Settlement May Come Sooner After Job Exit Under New Labour Laws
NEW DELHI: India is set to witness the biggest changes to its labour laws in decades, with the Centre having already cleared four new labour codes and states now preparing to notify their own rules under these laws. The central government last month announced the implementation of four labour...
AI Propels Layoffs In Tech Sector; Companies Focus On Reskilling
NEW DELHI: As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption accelerates, India’s information technology (IT) and start-up sectors are undergoing a period of upheaval marked by job cuts and growing uncertainty over the future role of programmers and coders. Recently, IT industry veteran and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy said modern...
Food Inflation To Remain Range-Bound In 2026
NEW DELHI: After food inflation hitting elevated double digits in October, 2024, agri-commodities prices have softened and retail food inflation has remained in the negative zones for the last six months because of robust harvest and adequate imports. Taking into consideration robust rabi sowing and adequate stocks, the retail...
India To Set Up Committee To Oversee New Zealand FDI Commitment Under FTA
NEW DELHI: India will set up an oversight committee to assess whether New Zealand should be granted a ‘grace period’ or additional time if the country fails to fulfill its foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment over a 15-year period. The two countries announced the conclusion of the free trade...
Rolls-Royce Plans Expansion In India, Eyes Jet Engine And Naval Projects
NEW DELHI: British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce on Sunday said it is looking at making India its third “home market” outside of the UK in line with a plan to unlock the full potential of opportunities across an array of domains including jet engine, naval propulsion, land systems and advanced...
Strong Fundamentals, Big-Ticket Investments To Propel India’s FDI In 2026
FDI inflows into India are expected to register robust growth in 2026, supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, big-ticket investment announcements, sustained efforts to improve the ease of doing business and a new generation of investment-linked trade pacts. To ensure that India remains an attractive and investor-friendly destination, the Government...
From Vande Bharat To Station Revamp: Railways’ 2025 Milestones Lay Foundation For 2026
NEW DELHI: Indian Railways has ended the year 2025 with a bang, paving the way for a faster, safer, and passenger-friendly railway system as the country readies itself for a new year – 2026 – on the horizon. And it is through innovation, indigenisation, and substantial infrastructure development work...
Consolidation In Public Sector Banks Likely To Gain Pace In 2026
NEW DELHI: Consolidation in public sector banks is expected to gain momentum in the coming year, as the government has expressed its desire to have more big, world-class banks in the country to fuel the next phase of growth for Viksit Bharat by 2047. Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala...
Small Business Credit Exposure Rises 16% To ₹46 Trillion: CRIF-SIDBI Report
MUMBAI: India’s aggregate small business credit exposure rose 16.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹46 trillion as on September 30, from ₹39.6 trillion a year earlier. The growth rate has moderated from the previous quarter’s 19.3 per cent Y-o-Y, possibly reflecting more cautious underwriting and seasonal variations. Comprehensive policy...
Deposit Growth Slips Below 10% As Credit Rises 11.7%, Gap At 200 Basis Points
MUMBAI: Deposit growth in the fortnight ended December 12 slowed to 9.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), while credit growth picked up to 11.7 per cent Y-o-Y. This resulted in a credit-deposit growth gap of 200 basis points (bps), underscoring the persistent deposit tightness in the banking system, latest data...
Petroleum Products Exports Down 8% To $26.6 Billion In April-November
NEW DELHI: India’s exports of petroleum products fell 7.9% year-on-year to $26.6 billion during April-November of FY26, down from $28.9 billion in the same period last year, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). In volume terms, however, exports remained largely unchanged at 42.3 million...
